Episode 4: Impromptu with Ben Hjertmann

Recorded in person on the front porch of Ben's lovely North Carolina home, we sip beverages and talk about our sometimes fraught relationships with music. Featuring several special guests, including: a dog name Herschel, a series of pickup trucks and a daddy long legs.

Ben Hjertmann is a composer and vocalist currently based in Asheville, NC. He composes notated music for ensembles, and writes/performs with the Grant Wallace Band and Kong Must Dead. His improvised song duo is Vinesines. Prior to this, he composed, performed, and directed experimental music (voice/guitar/bağlama) with the Sissy-Eared Mollycoddles.

Ben cut his teeth in the Chicago new music community 2007-2014 and remains a long-distance admirer and friend of that community. His work has been featured Spektral Quartet’s debut album Chambers, released by Parlour Tapes+, and pianist Nick Phillips's American Vernacular album released on New Focus Recordings. He’s produced recordings including Grant Wallace Band's Axle of the World (with Rabbit), his chamber-metal dissertation album Angelswort, and three of his avant-pop albums as Kong Must Dead.

​He received his Doctor of Music degree in composition from Northwestern University in 2013. His dissertation research was on microtonal harmonic structures derived from sum & difference tones. Prior to that he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2007. He previously taught music technology, composition, theory, aural skills, and song writing at Northwestern University as well as theory and composition for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He served as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Composition at Appalachian State University from 2014-2018.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.fm or on your favorite podcasting service like Spotify or Apple.